Christmas Night 1999
by abandoned81409
Summary: Prue wakes up late on Christmas Night and finds Phoebe still awake. Circa season two. One-shot. COMPLETE.


**Right now, I'm kinda stuck on my other story, "The Photographer", but I still needed a Prue/Phoebe fix so this is what I came up with. Not slashy, for once, but a nice kind of sister piece. Hope you like!**

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Christmas Night 1999

Prue Halliwell padded quickly down the stairs of Halliwell Manor, shivering. It wasn't horribly cold for December in San Francisco, but it was enough for her to want to curl up in bed with both her sisters for warmth. So, she'd decided to turn the heat up a little bit and had set off to find the thermostat.

When she hit the bottom step, she glanced into the living room, curious to see if either of her sisters had come downstairs. And, in fact, the youngest was sitting up on the couch, facing the last dying flames from the fire they had lit earlier that evening.

Forgetting how cold she was for a few moments, Prue ventured into the living room to check on her little sister, ever the worrisome oldest sister.

She placed her hands lightly on Phoebe's shoulders from behind. The other woman didn't react to Prue's surprising touch at all.

"Pheebs?" Prue was becoming more and more concerned, especially when she received no response from her baby sister. She rounded the couch and sat on the cushion beside Phoebe. Phoebe turned to face her, and Prue saw the tears flowing silently but steadily down her cheeks. Her brown hair was loose and framed her face, making her look like an angel even when she was clearly very sad.

"Hey," Phoebe rasped, voice harsh from crying. Prue smiled gently and wrapped her arms around her sister's body.

"What were you thinking about?" Prue asked gently, running a hand over Phoebe's sleep-tousled hair.

"Mom," Phoebe said. "And Dad. I can't remember even one Christmas I spent with them. And then I was thinking about how you would remember it, and I got kinda jealous, I guess. And kinda sad too."

"Oh, sweetie..." Prue kissed the top of Phoebe's head and held her close. "I'm sorry."

Phoebe shakes her head. "It's not your fault," she whispered back. She laid back against her sister, easily relaxing into the other woman's body. She liked being held by her big sister, which was something most grown women wouldn't ever admit to. Prue was her best friend and her sister, someone she loved and trusted more than anyone else in the world -- besides Piper, of course.

"I remember your second Christmas," Prue said. "Dad left us that tape of it last year..."

"Yeah... I remember the tape. But I don't remember actually _being_ there. I just remember watching it happen last year."

"Well, that's kinda to be expected, don't you think? You were only a year old. I barely remember your very first Christmas. You would've been maybe one month old then and I would have been..." She tilted her head back against the back of the couch. Prue was smart, but her cognitive skills were a bit lacking at such an late hour.

"Five," Phoebe told her, giggling a little bit. "You would've been five." She liked Prue best when she wasn't entirely awake. It was amusing to watch her try to think or reason or talk. But she seemed to be doing a pretty good job talking right now.

"Yeah, five," Prue repeated. "I remember on that Christmas Night, you were crying. But Mom and Dad didn't wake up. And...I, um... Piper woke me up, and I went over to you, and I took you out of your crib, and I checked your diaper and all that, but everything was fine. So I put you in my bed. You stopped crying right away, -- I guess you were just lonely or something -- and I held you for a little while, kinda like I'm holding you right now. Then, I guess Piper wanted in on the snuggling, cause she climbed out of her bed and into mine on the other side of you, and she rubbed your back until you fell asleep. Mom found us like that in the morning, and she thanked me for taking such good care of you. And that morning...you got your first Barbie. And you loved it so much, you turned it into a chew toy." She grinned as her short story came to an end, waiting for Phoebe's reaction.

Phoebe laughed and curled up closer to her sister. "Sounds about right," she commented. She felt Prue nod against her head and gently rubbed Phoebe's arms.

"I love you, Pheebs," Prue whispered. "I hope you know that."

"I know," Phoebe whispered. "I know. I promise you I know."

"Good. Merry Christmas, by the way." Prue smiled. "I think I said that a million times just yesterday."

Phoebe grinned. "Merry Christmas, Prue. I love you too."

With those quiet sentiments shared, Prue decided to get up, complete the task she'd come downstairs to do and go back to bed. With a gently push, she coaxed Phoebe off of her and stood up. But she didn't get far before Phoebe grabbed onto her hand.

"Stay with me."

"Baby girl...I'm _tired_. I came down to turn the heat up a bit, but I saw you first and my instincts to comfort you won out. But now, I'm cold again, and I need my beauty sleep."

"Then I'm coming with you," Phoebe said adamantly. She stood up and walked over to the stairs to wait for Prue.

Prue shook her head, smiling, turned up the heat a bit and met Phoebe at the edge of the stairs. She reached down and took Phoebe's hand, leading her sister up the stairs to her bedroom. They slept in each other's arms, like that Christmas Night so many years ago.

The End.


End file.
